Zumaya Publications LLC of Austin, TX, has launched Zumaya Embraces to offer high-quality romance and womenâ€™s fiction in a way that will be easily identifiable to readers who prefer the genre.

â€œSince the company started seven years ago, superb writers like RWA Prism finalist Linda Andrews and EPPIE Award winner Judy Lawn have entertained romance lovers,â€ said Zumaya Executive Editor Elizabeth K. Burton. â€œAs our catalog has grown, we decided they deserved â€˜a home of their own.â€™â€

Embraces is one of three new imprints Zumaya will introduce in 2007. The next one, Zumaya Boundless, will focus on genre and literary fiction with GLB characters.

â€œWe unofficially initiated the Boundless line last fall with Dorien Greyâ€™s Western romantic suspense novel Calico,â€ said Burton. â€œThis year, Boundless will debut a talented young writer from the UK, James Bennett, with a suspense novel titled Unrequited and a new edition of Susan M. Brooksâ€™s DIY Fiction Award-winning Sheâ€™s the Girl.â€

The third line, for mysteries, is yet unnamed; Burton said Zumaya will hold a contest to see what readers think is the best choice as the company did for Embraces in December with a â€œName That Imprintâ€ poll contest.

The new imprints will bring the total number under the Zumaya umbrella to four, including the Zumaya Otherworlds SF/F line started in 2005. A fifth line of books for middle and YA readers is also under consideration.

Burton noted that submissions are currently open at Zumaya in all genres.

â€œFor Embraces, weâ€™re looking for non-category work, character-driven stories that step outside the familiar,â€ she said. â€œAnd while we arenâ€™t in the market for erotic romanceâ€”thatâ€™s the purview of our sister company eXtasy Booksâ€”we welcome the sensual as well as the sweet.â€

Established in 2000 in British Columbia and transplanted to Texas in 2006, Zumaya and Zumaya Otherworlds have gained a reputation for quality trade fiction and nonfiction, offering exceptional work by both established and first-time authors. Zumaya books are listed on Amazon, and selected titles are available from Ingram and Baker & Taylor. Titles are also available as ebooks through Fictionwise, DPP Bookstore and All Romance eBooks.